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Today I picked up a fresh coho salmon on sale. I filleted it badly, and now have an odd mix of chunks and bones. I froze a lot of it in water for later eating. Of what remains:

-The meaty bones will get simmered in a pot to make soup, along with onions, garlic and butter. Skin and bones will get tossed.

-The fillet chunk will get poached and eaten with some chard.

How do you fix your salmon? Any tips on cooking, spices and preservation would be appreciated.

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11 Answers

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I was on the hunt for some salmon recipes a while back, and i came across a few that suggested mustard as a condiment for salmon. I was super skeptical at first, but i gave it a shot and it was delicious! Allrecipes.com is a great source for inventive recipes.

I used dried mustard powder as a substitute for the bottled ones, and it worked out just fine. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/broiled-salmon-with-herb-mustard-glaze-recipe/index.html this recipe was pretty good. with your salmon tidbits, i'd probably prepare it as a filler for a vegetable wrap or a topping to potatoes or whatever. your call. I'm usually not picky about how i put my food together :-)

best!

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i do salmon sous vide at 41C, and i deskin the filet and fry the skin separatly on pan. And if i feel like it, i do beurre blanc sauce.

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That temperature sounds pretty low. How long does it take? – thhq Aug 6 2011 at 12:05
Its basicly raw but looks like cold smoked fish. 60C is pasterized. So you dont need any higher temp than 60C to cook fish. Time depends on the thickness, varies from 15mins to hour or so. – Jan Aug 6 2011 at 17:07
I cook salmon sous vide at about 123 degrees for about 15 minutes. I use an insulated cooler, freezer bags, hot water, and a thermometer. Perfectly poached all the way through. Here's the link to make one yourself. seriouseats.com/2010/04/… – AlanBeall Aug 8 2011 at 15:38
Yes, salmon cooking temp isnt as critical as eggs or some 72hour short ribs, cooler method works very well due to low temp and cooking time. – Jan Aug 9 2011 at 8:36
If i have really good fresh salmon i dont want to use many spices to mess with the clean salmon flavor, thats also why i do it low temp sous vide (41-42c). Farmed salmon is a different thing, the fat doesnt taste as good at all. – Jan Aug 9 2011 at 8:39
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I place tinfoil and then parchment paper down and then place the fish on the parchment paper and grill. Sometimes I add butter or lemon.

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Fried in bacon grease in a cast iron pan. S&P to taste. Maybe some onions.

After cooking steaks on the Weber grill there is usually still a good bunch of coals left so I'll sometimes close the vents up, slap a spiced and frozen fillet on the rack and close it up and go eat dinner. Come back after dinner and the fillet will have been cooked perfectly on the residual heat. The coals will snuff themselves out with the vents shut.

You do not want to freeze it in water. It will turn to mush. Adding mass also slows the freezing time and that makes for larger ice crystals that tear up the cell membranes exasperating this effect.

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I've frozen raw salmon in water for years and never had it go mushy. It keeps it fresher tasting and doesn't freezer burn. The bacon idea sounds really good. A few weeks ago I smoked up a batch of sockeye (225 F for 2 hours over apple/hazelnut wood mix)and used bacon strips to top it. The bacon flavor permeates the fish and keeps it from getting too smoky. – thhq Aug 6 2011 at 11:53
Vacuum packing keeps them from getting freezer burnt and lets them freeze faster and the fish tastes fresher. Defrost time is less and less messy and less space is taken up in the freezer. We usually pack up about 50 reds a year as well as halibut and other salmon and need to keep room for the chickens and this year pigs. – Mikey Aug 6 2011 at 19:07
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Being from the pacific NW, you KNOW I love my salmon. I have a recipe posted on my blog here: http://paleolady.com/index.php/2010/10/tasty-paleo-salmon-recipe/comment-page-1/#comment-155

Basically it is cooking it in either white wine or coconut water, wrapped in tinfoil in the oven. Its lovely and moist. Mm!

And also the right temp to roast veggies, so I will do that at the same time.

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That looks SO good! – henny Aug 6 2011 at 6:22
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We grill it on cedar planks in hot weather, but in winter/ cooler weather I prepare it "en papillote" --

Cut enough parchment paper to have the end result form a packet. Place salmon skin side down with a nice big dollop of ghee or pat of gf butter, a sprinkle of sea salt, and a sprinkle of parsley. Close up packet (I roll tightly or staple them); pop them in preheated 350 oven for 10- 12 mins.

It's almost impossible to overcook it this way. And the method really brings out the flavor; simple but tasty.

Oh, and we eat the skin, too :-) Fried in coconut oil until crispy - yummm.

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The "en papillote" method sounds similar to poaching, except for using less liquid. Cooking wet results in moist succulent fish every time. I like to grill but I tend to overcook unless I'm really careful. – thhq Aug 5 2011 at 22:57
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Having read all the ideas here's the plan - bed the filet on the chard (which is already steamed with butter and onions), add a little extra water and steam it covered on the stovetop until just cooked. If I don't get a lemon I'll season it with some red wine vinegar or unsweetened cranberry juice. – thhq Aug 5 2011 at 23:08
I'm a big fan of the cedar plank method- the salmon is so succulent cooked that way! We have BBQ'd salmon in winter too since it doesn't need a high temperature to come out yummy. Poached is also a favourite of mine but my hubby loves the crispy skin that comes from pan cooking in butter. – henny Aug 6 2011 at 6:18
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I ended up eating the skin, which practically melted into the chard. No fishy flavor, maybe because it was so fresh. And I left a lot of the skin in the meat I stewed out from the bones. – thhq Aug 6 2011 at 12:01
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Grilled! In a deep plate I toss a little oil and some Coconut Aminos and coat the fish.... and get a good sear on each side, and cook for just a few more minutes... (I like mine a little rare!)

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de-skin and take out gray matter under skin, rinse and pat dry, liberally squeeze lemon on fish and add some of the rind too, then sprinkle Paul Prudhomme's Red Fish seasoning (which i use for veggies and all meats too). Cook at 400 for 12-20 min depending on thickness etc...

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ack - if you take off the skin and the 'grey stuff' you take out the good part – Thumper Aug 5 2011 at 19:03
a fish monger told me that was where a majority of the toxins were stored in teh grey stuff...but i am not sure so i took it off. – paleoprimal Aug 5 2011 at 19:15
contaminants are very chemical specific as to where in the body they accumulate (and any contaminant that is going to accumulate in the fatty tisue of salmon would accumulate throughout the flesh also) – Thumper Aug 5 2011 at 19:32
I'd always heard that the fat content of the gray meat was the highest, and always eat it for that reason. – thhq Aug 5 2011 at 23:01
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I can't believe you're going to toss the skin! It's the best part. Stock the bones, but spare the delicious skin, IMO.

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I hate to say it but I don't like the skin because it tastes fishy.... – thhq Aug 5 2011 at 18:31
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fry or grill the skin and it loses almost all of the fishyness. It's bacon of the sea! – wheelhouse Aug 5 2011 at 20:13
Are you absolutely sure there aren't scales on? I notice that whenever fresh salmon is tasting too fishy it's usually a bit scaley. I recommend re-trying it after you give it a good scrapping with a serrated knife. – Katie Aug 5 2011 at 20:29
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I like to bbq it whole - in a mix of maple syrup and wheat free tamari and wrapped in tinfoil (then the smaller end bits get almost candied while the thicker parts remain juicy and delicious).

In my opinion less is better when it comes to salmon. Less cooking time and less 'stuff' added. Salmon is great undercookd but is terrible when over-done.

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Grill it! A little fresh lemon juice and a sprinkle of sea salt and we just throw it on the grill (skin side down) until cooked through. Flakes easily and the bones are easy to pick out if you want, or you can mash them up into the meat. My husband eats the (grilled) skin. He calls it "the ocean's bacon" :)

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I like coho (and kings even more) because the bones are easy to get out and the filet stays intact. Sockeye and steelhead trout are not so easy. – thhq Aug 5 2011 at 18:34

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